Paaliaq is thought to be about 29 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Saturn at an average distance of 15.0 million km in 687 days. It is a member of the Inuit group of irregular satellites. It also has a proximity with 9 other moons reaching up to ten miles from each.[clarification needed]
It is light red in color, and in the infrared the Paaliapian (Paaliaqan)[a] spectrum is very similar to the Inuit-group satellites Kiviuq and Siarnaq, supporting the thesis of a possible common origin of the Inuit group in the break-up of a larger body.[5][10] Its light curve has an unusual pattern of four minima, suggesting that it has a very peculiar shape.[4]
Paaliaq imaged by the CFHT on 23 September 2000
Notes
^ a bThe genitive form of Paaliaq is Paaliap. Thus the adjectival form could be absolutivePaaliaqian or genitive Paaliapian, parallel to nominative Venusian and genitive Venerian for Venus. See Inuktitut morphology
References
^Discovery Circumstances (JPL)
^"Planetary Satellite Mean Elements". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov.
^Emelyanov, N. V.; Varfolomeev, M. I.; Lainey, V. (24 March 2022). "New ephemerides of outer planetary satellites". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 512 (2): 2044–2050. doi:10.1093/mnras/stac586.
^ a b cDenk, Tilmann; Mottola, Stefano; Tosi, Frederico; Bottke, William F.; Hamilton, Douglas P. (2018). "The Irregular Satellites of Saturn" (PDF). In Schenk, Paul M.; Clark, Roger N.; Howett, Carly J. A.; Verbiscer, Anne J.; Waite, J. Hunter (eds.). Enceladus and the Icy Moons of Saturn. Space Science Series. Vol. 322. Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona Press. pp. 409–434. Bibcode:2018eims.book..409D. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816537075-ch020. ISBN 9780816537075.
^ a b cGrav, T.; Bauer, J. (2007-03-08) [2006-11-18]. "A deeper look at the colors of the Saturnian irregular satellites". Icarus. 191 (1): 267–285. arXiv:astro-ph/0611590. Bibcode:2007Icar..191..267G. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2007.04.020. S2CID 15710195 – via arXiv.
^"IAUC 7512: S/2000 S 1, S/2000 S 2". www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu. 25 October 2000.
^"MPEC 2000-Y15 : S/2000 S 1, S/2000 S 2, S/2000 S 7, S/2000 S 8, S/2000 S 9". minorplanetcenter.net. 19 December 2000.
^Petten, Cheryl. "Naming Saturn's moons". Ammsa.com. Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. The fourth name, Paaliaq, is a character Kusugak created in his latest book, Marble Island-The Curse of the Shaman, which Kusugak is currently trying to get published. The characters Kiviuq and Siarnaq are also found in the book.